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Spicy Thai Crab Cakes with Lemon and Lime Aiöli

Spicy and sweet Thai-style crab cakes. Crisp and delicious on the outside with a flavourful and aromatic filling. Great served with homemade lemon and lime aiöli to cool down the heat!

These spicy crab cakes make a great appetiser, lunch or light bite for dinner. The perfect plate consists of a refreshing Asian-inspired salad and a drizzle of Sriracha to compliment the cakes!

As part of a collaboration with Wynn Las Vegas resort and restaurants, the famous Vegan chef Tal Ronnen has created a speciality menu offering a menu full of vegan and vegetarian dishes. Tal Ronnen is famous for cooking for celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres. The brief was to pick a dish from the menu and give it your own twist. This blogging project is really fun because it’s a good chance to experience some food flavours available on US and Las Vegas menus.

The menu had so much choice! So deciding what to pick and blog about was definitely the hardest part! I was stuck between many dishes like the mushroom risotto (one of my favourite dishes to cook at home), peach pancakes and the pot pie! But I decided on the crab cakes from the Lakeside restaurant because I was really love seafood. I’ve put an Oriental twist on the crab cakes as Old Bay seasoning is not available in the supermarkets here so I decided to just add some Asian flavour and influence to these gorgeous crispy cakes – ingredients that are accessible for everyone.

These crab cakes are packed full of flavour! With fresh ginger and chilli, garlic, chopped coriander and parsley, lemon zest and garlic all incased in each beautiful patty. Delicious, spicy and a great mix of taste – they’re definitely restaurant worthy and will wow anyone who tastes them! You can read some more about the Lakeside restaurant here.

(Makes 6)

Ingredients:

2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely diced

2 red chillies, deseeded and finely minced

1 clove of garlic, minced

250g can of white crab meat, drained well – you can swap crab for salmon or tuna, if preferred

1 tbsp chopped coriander

1 tbsp chopped parsley

2 spring onions, roughly chopped

8 tbsp of breadcrumbs

Plain flour

2 large free-range eggs

Vegetable or olive oil oil

Lemon Lime Aiöli –

4-5 tbsp mayonnaise

Zest from 1/2 lime + a squeeze of the juice

Zest 1/2 lemon plus a squeeze of the juice

1 clove of garlic, minced

Method:

1. To make the crab cakes: In a medium-sized mixing bowl combine the ginger, chilli, crab meat, coriander, parsley and chopped spring onions. Crack in one of the eggs and add 4 tbsp of the breadcrumbs. Mix to combine.

2. Divide the mixture into 6 equally sized portions. Now mould into patties. Place on a lined tray and pop into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

3. One chilled and firm, remove the crab cakes from the fridge. Beat the remaining egg with one tablespoon of water in a separate bowl. Dust each patty with a little of the plain flour, then dip and coat in the beaten egg. Finish by tossing in the breadcrumbs to coat and shaking off the excess breadcrumbs.

4. Preheat oven to 220°C / 200 degrees Fan / 425°F / Gas Mark 7. Heat approx. 2 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan. Once the oil is hot enough, fry the crab cakes 2-3 minutes each side. Then transfer to a large baking dish and finish cooking in the oven for 10 minutes or until piping hot in the centre.

5. To make the aiöli: Combine the mayonnaise with the zest, lime and lemon juice and minced garlic until combined. Serve the crab cakes hot with salad and the aiöli dipping sauce and some extra sweet chilli or a drizzle of Sriracha. I also love to garnish with lime or lemon wedges and a scattering of extra chopped herbs.

So here’s my recipe. These are crispy, spicy and really delicious. We enjoyed these for dinner served with steamed rice and stir-fried veggies, but they are also great served with a simple watercress salad with chopped tomatoes, sliced radishes, cucumber ribbons and a drizzle of olive oil. I hope you do give these a go, they’re exceptionally tasty and really easy to make! #MyVegasRecipe

One word: Yum! I haven’t made crab cakes in some time, I feel it is a summer by the water sort of thing, don’t know why I feel that way but thanks for the reminder ! It is time to whip up some crispy crab cakes!